Reverend Martin Luther King giving his I Have a Dream speech.

Reverend Martin Luther King giving his I Have a Dream speech.

1963

Photography

James P. Blair

“When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “I have a dream,” Blair says, “I heard that loud and clear.” When King “raised his hand and he said, ‘Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last,’ I went click, click, click. That was it.” Blair had captured a defining moment during one of the most iconic speeches in U.S. history, and he’d done it in color, unlike most civil rights photography.” [2]

Regarding this iconic moment, many still shots circulate public spaces. Most consisting of black and white photos, it can’t be helped when people perceive the civil rights movement as a distant moment in time. With Blair’s access to a color camera we’re not only able to marvel in the rarity of this piece of art but recontextualize this moment in proximity to our current fight for liberation.

Natgeo Image Collection

The Civil Rights Movement